Jo snapped her fingers. “Wait a minute. You got that on Valentine’s Day and refused to tell me who your secret admirer was. And you’re still wearing it?”
“Did you not hear me say the thing won’t come off?” She bit back some choice words, trying to hold her temper at bay.
“Calm down, girl. Why do you want it to come off now? And don’t give me that craziness about not wanting anyone to notice it. I forgot it was there, and I’m sure everyone else has too. The only person new around here is...” Jo’s voice trailed off and her eyes grew wide.
Michelle turned to the sink and rinsed her hands, hoping Jo wouldn’t give voice to her thoughts. She grabbed a hand towel and looked into the mirror. It looked like Jo watched her every move. She snapped. “What, Jo Ellen?”
“I’m Jo Ellen now, huh?” Her friend crossed her arms. “Guy gave you that ring didn’t he?” she asked with a toss of her chin.
“Yes.”
“So why do you want it off now, after all this time?”
“He saw it, and now I know he’s going to think it’s a big deal. If I can get it off, then maybe he’ll think he imagined it.”
“Oddly enough, I can understand that logic.” Jo stared at her with a look of confusion on her face. “Did you guys break up or something?”
“When he left.” Michelle headed for the kitchen. She needed coffee if Jo planned on dragging any other information out of her.
“What do you mean he left?”
“In high school. Remember? No one knew where he went?”
Jo nodded, “Right.”
Michelle grabbed the cup from under the coffee maker. “Well I didn’t either. He didn’t call, send a letter, e-mail...nothing.”
“Get out of here,” Jo whispered. “How could he do that?”
“And that’s the million-dollar question.” She raised her mug in salute and gulped down the hot coffee. Her eyes watered as the hot liquid hit her tongue. At least that’s what she told herself.
SHE STILL WORE THE ring.
Guy couldn’t believe it, couldn’t fathom the implications. It had been...what...thirteen years? Thirteen years wearing a promise ring when the promise had obviously been broken.
He rubbed his hands over his face then flopped backward onto his bed. He really needed to go to sleep before morning came. Or worse, the girls could wake up sick again.
A sighed slipped through his lips. Even though exhaustion pulled at him, his mind refused to shut down. All he could picture was the silver love-knot ring circled around Michelle’s right ring finger. Seeing it on her hand after all these years had been like a punch to his gut. A reminder of what their relationship had really been like. How could he have forgotten all the intricacies of their secret?
They had agreed not to voice any feelings aloud afraid their friends would figure there was something going on between them. Only he couldn’t take it a moment longer and had bought her the love knot as a promise.
“I got you something,” he whispered shifting closer on the blanket.
“You bought me something?” Michelle’s smile filled her face.
His heart thumped loudly as he pulled a ring box out of his pocket and opened it. “It’s not much, but I wanted you to look at it and think of me.”
Guy watched her face as he handed her the box. Inside the lid was a note explaining the symbolism of the love knot. He had bought one that was a single knot for her to wear and he had a matching one he’d wear on a chain.
She looked at him and her eyes turned glossy. “I love it, Guy.”
He wanted to whisper similar words, but they had made a promise. So instead, he leaned over and kissed her. When her hands touched the sides of his face he deepened the kiss. Thankful for her and thankful for her love.
He sat up swiftly and dropped to the floor in the push-up position. If his brain wouldn’t stop the memories, Guy would exhaust himself into a slumber. Maybe then, he could stop the guilt from pooling into his already dark soul.
MICHELLE PULLED OUT her notes on Chloe’s family tree. She had already submitted a request for Chloe’s original birth certificate. Even though her friend had showed her a copy of it, she wanted to double check that the father was indeed blank on the original. Sometimes the records department made mistakes.
She tapped her pen against her chin. There had to be someone who knew who her father was. Maybe Chloe’s mom had shared the secret with a friend. You mean like you did?
She rolled her eyes. “So, I didn’t tell Jo my secret, doesn’t mean Chloe’s mom did the same.”
“You still talk to yourself, huh?”
Michelle froze as the deep, accented voice filled the room. She turned toward the door, wondering how she had missed the chime announcing his arrival.
“What are you doing here?” she licked her lips. The sight of Guy made the pulse in her neck pound. And why did her voice have to sound slightly panicked? She wanted to be cool and composed.
“You haven’t asked for help with Chloe’s request, so I came to see how you were doing with that.” Guy stepped closer to her desk, his hands shoved into his pockets.
Only he could make Freedom Lake’s sheriff uniform look appealing. Get back to the topic at hand. “I was just wondering if any of Chloe’s mom’s classmates still lived here. Maybe one of them knew if she was in a relationship.”
He nodded and rubbed his chin. “Good point. What year did she graduate?”
“She didn’t.” Michelle looked down at her notes. Anything to ignore the way his look begged her to take a second glance. A long one. “Chloe was born during her mother’s junior year. Her mom was sixteen.”
Thank goodness he ignored the elephant in the room. She hadn’t been successful in getting the ring off. As long as she could keep her hands
